Background of study INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of study

The history of literature is part of the development of civilization. Through literature we are able to uncover new information about historycontinuously. For example, lyric poetry as opposed to epic poetry was often the specialty of courts and aristocracy in which the author narrates his emotions and feelings describing the social life of his time in the form of poem. One of the most notable and oldpoems where we can analyze this is the Shijing or Book of Songs. The poetry can be defined as emotions transformed into thoughts and expressed in words. According to Knickerbockers and Reninger 1963:307,poetry is the hymns of praise, and the essays on the nature of poetry would cram selves of any modest public library and overflow onto the floors, as wellgood talk about poetry is nevertheless rare, and even the best of it will rest lightly on fallow ground until we ourselves have learned how to penetrate the inner life of a few poems. Poem is a medium not only to express the feeling of the poets but also make us enter into these feelings about the things, persons, situation or idea in the poem. Poetry is entertainment, satisfaction, pleasure and enjoyment to the reader. There are a lot of things that can be discussed in a poem,the writing analysis concentrates only on the analysis of the figurative language used in the poem. 1 Figurative language is defined as a certain literary device which is commonly applied by the author to gain strength and freshness of their literary works expression. Figurative language is also called metaphor language or simply metaphor because its Greek ancestor “metaphoric” means to carry meaning beyond its literary meaning. In this writing, an analysis of figurative language in William Wordsworth’s poem becomes the main concern. This poementitles “She was a Phantom of Delight”. The reason why ithas been chosen to be analyzed is because William Wordsworth’s poem is interesting and unique. Wordsworthdescribes his feelings with romanticism. He was an eminent English poet, born on April 23rd 1770 in Cockermouth, an old market town in the district of Allerdale in the north west ofEngland. Together with the famous poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 - 1834, he would launch the Romantic period and school of thought of English literature with their Lyrical Ballads first published in 1798. Wordsworth’s masterpiece, however, would be his largely autobiographical poem entitled“The Prelude” 1850, which focused on the formative experiences of his youth. Wikipedia William Bibliography Wordsworth would manage to publish his first sonnet in 1787 in the London- based European Magazine when he was only seventeen years old. Around that time he would also complete his studies at Cambridge, and after that in 1791 he would leave for France because the revolutionary ideology of this country at the time had come to fascinate him. It is at that moment in his life that Wordsworth would fall in love with Annette Vallon, a French woman that would bear his first child whom they would name Caroline. However, largely because of tensions between France and England, he would end up moving back to his country of origin the following year. Be that as it may, it is important to note Wordsworth would continue to support them both as much as he could for years to come even though they never actually married. Wordsworth would eventually marry Mary Hutchinson, a friend from childhood, and would have five additional children from that union.Wikipedia William Bibliography In 1778, sadly Wordsworth would lose his mother, when he was just eight years of age, and his father only five years later in 1783. As if that was not enough traumatic experiences for the young Wordsworth, he would also find himself momentarily separated from his sister, Dorothy, to whom he had understandably become much attached. Based on the background above, it can be seen that the love poems of William Wordsworth is the reflection of his real life. The love poem is at the same time about the passions and delights. Wikipedia William Bibliography The analysis of figurative language becomes the main concern in this writing because in the poem, there are many words or expressions whichhave implicit meanings or message that we should study further to know what the poet exactly means. By knowing what kinds of figurative language are used in the poem, it will be easier to understand what the poet means and wants to convey in the poems. This writing explains about the types of figurative language and the message of poems.

1.2 Problems of Study